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Walkers, a popular division of PepsiCo UK, recently announced plans to use spuds both inside and outside the bag in an attempt to make its snacks more environmentally-friendly.

For many years, Walkers has been proud of the fact that its snacks are made using only 100% British grown potatoes, and now, they may have found a way to put the skins of those potatoes, a part usually discarded during the chip-making process, to use as part of the packaging (The Telegraph).

"Imagine making a crisp packet out of potato peelings," Richard Evans, president of PepsiCo UK and Ireland, told BBC Radio 4 earlier this month. "In reality, if you think about starch – and you know how sticky starch is – if you could mass it together you could create a layer of starch and stabilise that. We could use the peelings we have, that today go to animal feed and other recycling uses, to be turned into a crisp packets."

Evans, said that Walkers has already developed chip bags made out of cellulose from wood pulp but these have been put on the back burner following the consumer backlash against SunChips' 100% compostable packaging. Frito-Lay temporarily discontinued the bags after 45,000 Facebook users complained that they were "too loud."

The proposed potato-based bag wouldn't be compostable, but Walkers claims it has several biodegradable options in the works.

The company, which is based in Leicester, produces more than 10 million bags of crisps each day, including brands such as Doritos and Quavers. The new potato-peel packaging could be on UK shelves within 18 months, starting with its smaller brands.

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About the Author:

Beth is a freelance copy writer and environmental blogger living in Colorado. She has an M.S. in Public Communication and Technology from Colorado State University, and is passionate about inspiring people to live and laugh more sustainably. Follow her on Twitter as @ecosphericblog